Group 6
That was a much better result for England last night.
It was great to see Defoe score a goal on his debut - Robinson looked more solid than James does in goal - and Beckham put in a better performance than last saturday against Austria. All in all, we've got 4 points from two of the trickiest away ties in the group. A very nice start for England. Top of the table too, except for having an ever so slightly worse GD than Austria.
Wales .v. Northern Ireland .. WoW! I wasn't expecting Northern Ireland to get a lot out of the match. They put in a very good performance to get a point at the Millenium Stadium .. but what on earth was the referee doing! A red card for Robbie Savage!? For what .. being tackled and pushed over. :s It's a complete joke .. and what's even stupider is that Wales aren't allowed to appeal against his ban.
The video evidence is clear - he did nothing to warrant a red card .. so obviously there's something wrong with FIFA here.
Anyway, a point here was also a great result for England, meaning that a win at home to Wales would put them 7 points clear of Wales after only 3 matches. A big advantage to have.
Austria 2-0 Azerbaijan - no surprise.
Group 6 Table
1. Austria. 4
2. England. 4.
3. Poland. 3.
4. Wales. 2.
5. Azerbaijan. 1.
6. Northern Ireland. 1.
Group 5
Scotland 0-0 Slovenia - Unlucky for Scotland. They played well (unlike in recent matches) and should have come away with all 3 points. In their next qualifier hitting the net will be a priority!
Moldova 0-1 Italy - Italy have an 100% record from 2 matches.
Norway 1-1 Belarus - Vital points dropped for Norway.
Group 5 Table
1. Italy. 6.
2. Slovenia. 4.
3. Belarus. 1.
4. Scotland. 1.
5. Norway. 1.
6. Moldova. 0.
Group 1
Holland 2-0 Czech Republic
Czech Republic .v. Romania - already looks quite crucial for the Czechs in October. Defeat and they're 12 points adrift of Romania..
Group 2
Greece 0-0 Turkey
Greece with some work to do after 2 matches. They do have a tough group and to be honest, if they don't qualify I won't be surprised.
Group 3
Luxembourg 3-4 Latvia
- when was the last time Luxembourg scored 3 goals in a competitive match!? They also lead this one 3-2, coming back from a goal down twice.
Portugal 4-0 Estonia - with 20 minutes left this match was goalless .. good thing Portugal were able to score before the final whistle.
Slovakia 7-0 Liechtenstein - Slovakia are serious contenders for qualification. 7 points out of 3 matches, including a draw in Russia.
Group 4
Isreal 2-1 Cyprus
Switzerland 1-1 Ireland
Switzerland, Ireland, France and Israel all on 4 points with two matches played.
Group 7
Bosnia 1-1 Spain
Lithuania 4-0 San Marino
The table is interesting:
Lithuania 4, Serbia 3, Belgium, Bosnia & Spain 1 .. San Marino 0 (of course)
Group 8
Hungary 3-2 Iceland
Sweden 0-1 Croatia
Croatia have the perfect start. 6 points from 3 matches. Hungary were fortunate to get a point after being 1-0 down to Iceland.
Bring on the matches in October!